Vanport President Paul Owen said Wednesday that the layoffs are temporary, and are necessary because the mill has already processed its allotted amount of tribal-land timber for the year -- 38 million board feet. During the layoff period, the tribe will begin a $4.6 million upgrade of the mill's bio-mass system, which uses wood waste to produce electricity to power the plant. Some laid-off employees will be called back to work on that project, Owen said.

Logging will resume in late December, Owen said, and lumber production should begin in February. He said the sawmill has been "very successful" and described the crew as highly productive.